ABSTRACT
Why is economic literacy important? What is meant by economic literacy? How and where is economics taught in schools? What do we know about the effectiveness of various instructional approaches in teaching economics? These are among the questions this chapter addresses. The chapter begins by revisiting the conclusions and recommendations from the chapter on economic education by Schug and Walstad found in the 1991 edition of the Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning (hereafter, Handbook) to provide some context for interpreting more recent research. In the next major section, we revisit the case for economic literacy, seeking any new elements from advocates of economic education, and then what economic literacy means, in order to determine what economics students should be learning. Discoveries here lead to an examination of the curriculum to determine what economics content schools are attempting to implement, and to research on how well teachers are prepared to teach that curriculum. Next, this review summarizes research on student learning of economics, followed by a section on research about economics instruction in schools and a brief review of some of the research on economic education in countries with transition economics (e.g., nations of the former Soviet Union). The chapter concludes with a summary and recommendations for further research.
